It is business as usual for most part on Day 1 of US government’s shutdown

WASHINGTON: The sun rose in the East, flights international and domestic are landing, power and water are still flowing through outlets, gas stations, stores, and malls opened, teachers, soldiers, teachers, policemen, firefighters and mailmen continue with their job, and traffic is sailing through lights that work. It is business as usual for the most part on Day One of the US government's shutdown. It is only when you head to the Statue of Liberty or the Smithsonian Museum or various National Parks (''CLOSED''), or call in to check on some government programs or payouts (voicemail), that you feel the first impact of the government shutdown that is expected to get worse the longer it lasts.

US wants MNCs to have right to sue India abroad

There is growing pressure on the Indian government to incorporate a provision in an investment agreement with the US, which if invoked will have far-reaching implications in that it will allow multinational corporations to bypass the Supreme Court and sue the government for millions of dollars in foreign tribunals. 

Indians, Chinese keep US B-schools in business

MUMBAI: Young graduates from India and China are powering the growth of full-time MBA programmes worldwide. In contrast, the share of working people planning to pursue an MBA—through online, executive or part-time mode—is plummeting.

US, Russia agree deal on Syria chemical weapons

GENEVA/BEIRUT: Russia and the United States put aside bitter differences over Syriato strike a deal on Saturday that by destroying President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal may avert US military action against him. 

US woman's last name too long for driver's license

HONOLULU: A US woman's last name is so long that she can't get a driver's license with her correct name. Janice "Lokelani" Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele is fighting to make it happen.

The documents only have room for 35 characters, so Hawaii County instead issued her driver's license and her state ID with the last letter of her name chopped off. And it omitted her first name.

HISTORY OF USA

The history of the United States as covered in American schools and universities typically begins with either Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage to the Americas or with the prehistory of the Native peoples, with the latter approach having become increasingly common in recent decades.

US stocks: Wall Street rises for 7th straight session, Apple drops

NEW YORK: US stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising for a seventh straight day, as chances for an immediate military strike against Syria decreased, while a sell-off at Apple limited gains. 

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 135.23 points or 0.89 percent, to 15,326.29, the S&P 500 gained 5.08 points or 0.3 percent, to 1,689.07 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.011 points or 0.11 percent, to 3,725.01. 

Qaida chief calls for US attacks, economic boycott

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a speech marking the 12th anniversary of 9/11, called on Thursday for attacks on the United States and a boycott of the world's largest economy. 

US set to bag $5bn defence deals

NEW DELHI: Having already bagged Indian defence contracts worth over $8 billion in recent years after muscling out Russia, Israel and France, the US is now headed towards clinching another four major deals worth almost $5 billion. 

Defence ministry sources on Thursday said the deals for six more C-130J " Super Hercules" aircraft ($1.2 billion), 22 Apache attack helicopters ($1.4 billion), 145 M-777 ultra-light howitzers ($885 million) and 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters (around $1 billion) "are in the final stages" now. 

Changing China set to shake world economy, again

BEIJING/LONDON: Long after concerns about tightening US monetary policy have faded, a more profound issue will still dog global policymakers: how to handle the second stage of China's economic revolution.

The first phase, industrialisation, shook the world. Commodity-producing countries boomed as they fed China's endless appetite for natural resources. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies last decade were in Africa.

China's flood of keenly priced manufactured goods hollowed out jobs in advanced and emerging nations alike but also helped cap inflation and made an array of consumer goods affordable for tens of millions of people for the first time.

Sikh group delivers US court summons to Sonia Gandhi

New York : A Sikh rights group says it has delivered a US federal court’s summons to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, who is in New York for medical treatment, through hospital staff and her security detail. SFJ attorney Gurpatwant S. Pannun said Ester Ruiz, night shift nursing supervisor at the Sloan-Kettering was handed a copy of the summons, complaint and Judge Brian M Cogan’s order directing her to give the documents to Gandhi.

US: 9/11 ceremony will be a quiet 'last' for mayor of national September 11 memorial

NEW YORK: When this year's September 11 anniversary ceremony unfolds at ground zero, the mayor who has helped orchestrate the observances from their start will be watching for his last time in office. And saying nothing.

Syria crisis: Obama blends threat of attack, hope of diplomacySyria crisis: Obama blends threat of attack, hope of diplomacy

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama used a nationally televised address on Tuesday night to make his case for military action against Syria, telling skeptical Americans that President Bashar Assad's government posed a threat to US security even as he recognized that diplomatic steps could render attacks unnecessary.

Payback time: N-deal for US

NEW DELHI: India will put its money where its mouth is. Battling widespread criticism in Washington that it pocketed a game-changing nuclear deal for free, India will sign a "commercial contract" for a small works agreement with Westinghouse, the only US nuclear company with any declared plan to set up nuclear power plants in India. The nuclear contract, for a modest sum of under $100 million, is expected to be signed between NPCIL and Westinghouse during the visit of PM Manmohan Singh to Washington later this month. While the deal is largely symbolic, it's a sign from India that it will try to walk the talk on welcoming nuclear reactors by US companies. They have refused to invest in the Indian nuclear sector because of concerns about India's nuclear liability law. The Indian government has so far maintained the law should not be a deterrent, but there are no takers in US or other countries for that argument. To that extent, this agreement would be seen as a statement of intent by India, certainly a PM who considers the nuclear deal to be his greatest legacy. Quite apart from the nuclear issue, it's clear the Barack Obama administration has taken India off the radar. During the initial discussions on Singh's visit, the White House, said sources, did not even offer a lunch meeting between Singh and Obama. Instead, a lunch with vice-president Joe Biden was put on the table. India refused. It was only later that the US side agreed to a meal to be shared by the two leaders. Last week's appointment of Rakesh Sood, an acknowledged expert nuclear negotiator, as PM's special envoy on nuclear matters is also seen as an effort to roll back the damage. According to PMO insiders, the appointment was made directly by the PM completely bypassing the MEA, which holds the nuclear policy account. The PM's visit will also be in the background of military strikes on Syria, which could have happened by the time he's there or about to happen. Whatever it is, Syria will be top of mind for everyone in DC, not to speak for Obama himself. The visit is important for Singh, who is looking at securing his legacy on the nuclear front. After he pushed the deal through Parliament in 2008, Singh has allowed the nuclear dossier to be preyed on by the atomic energy bureaucracy, effectively killing the deal. In the last year, the India-US relationship has been about bureaucrats on both sides blaming each other, while the relationship ran aground.